DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) The broad, long term objective of this application is to provide Core support services for 24 principal investigators that will enhance their capabilities, productivity, and collaborative interactions and to encourage the acquisition of new faculty into Vision Research. The PIs are roughly divided into three subgroups. These are molecular, neural systems and clinical vision researchers, whose individual research is approved and funded by the National Eye Institute. Support services include Instrumentation, Molecular Biology, Biostatistics and Computation-Illustration. Each service facility provides long-standing continuity and expertise in its specialty. Design and construction of optical, electrophysiological and mechanical original research instruments or modification of commercial equipment is provided by the Instrumentation Module. DNA sequencing, gene mapping and polymerase chain reactions are performed by the Molecular Biology service. Experimental design and data analysis in clinical population or laboratory studies is provided by Biostatistics. Expert assistance in the use of scientific data display and analysis software, image analysis and graphic output is provided by Computation-Illustration. Together, these facilities accelerate progress, enrich interaction and provide collaborative opportunities for translation of basic research into clinical application in vision and ophthalmology.